The early Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon speech communities lived close enough together to form a linguistic crossroads which is why they share some of the traits otherwise only typical of Anglo-Frisian languages.
speakers of Saterland Frisian in the Saterland region of Lower Saxony; the Saterland's marshy fringe areas have long protected Frisian speech there from pressure by the surrounding Low German and standard German.
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Although intelligibility is often strained between the two languages (especially spoken), the Northumbrian dialect of English bears a striking similarity to Frisian in many ways.
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Because of this far distance from Standard Dutch and the official status of the neighbouring Frisian, Grunnegs is considered as a separate language by some of its native speakers, while linguists consider it part of Dutch Low Saxon.
The population always spoke a Frisian dialect, but, by uniting the city of Groningen with the surrounding district, that Frisian merged into the Low Saxon (Platduuts) of the city, though the language of the surrounding countryside still retains a strong Frisian substrate.